Food Review: The 5th Taste Restaurant

I am not really a foodie lately, perhaps because I am afraid to gain weight once again. I am a 95 kg person 4 years ago and then after all my effort I am now maintaining my weight of 75kg. Last week, Zomato invited me to a foodie event at The 5th Taste. It was one opportunity that I would not miss for the world.

The 5th Taste is located at 453 P. Guevarra Street, Addition Hills, San Juan City. My girlfriend and I went there via Shaw Blvd and we have to walk about 15 minutes to get there. There were no usual transportation like the jeepney but you can ride a tricycle for P25 or a cab.

We almost lost our way because of the lack of signage of the place. Luckily, we noticed the signage at the 2nd floor and I was unsure whether we are at the right place. I guess the signage has to be really improve so that people will not miss this very good place to eat out. I will tell you why.

This venue is actually ideal for gatherings, team building and special occasions. The 5th Taste can occupy up to 100 visitors.

Here are some of the food we tasted during our foodie meetup at The 5th Taste:

"One of a Kind" Lasagna - this is the best food and the best Lasagna I ever had in my life. I could almost eat all of the servings if there were no people around. The taste of cheese was just right and there was a Japanese touch to it. Yummy!

Bacon Prawn Tempura - this would be my second favorite. I love the way that it is with the right size of prawn and the crispiness is really amazing. I also like the dip, it might not be that good but since I do not really dip things since I like to eat food as it is.

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Onions and Mushroom Tonkatsu + Chorizo and Mushroom Tonkatsu - I am not a fun of Tonkatsu actually since it has a very regular and bland taste however, the 5th Taste Tonkatsu is really very different. You can say that when you eat it you will feel satisfaction and instant umaminess of the food.

California Maki Furai - I do love California Maki and the way they prepared this one is really a way of their own. This one is really meant for sharing and total enjoyment.

Kani Salad Pizza and Chicken Furai Pizza - two pizzas that are uniquely The 5th Taste. The pizza crust are so thin that you might mistaken them for Boritos or something like that. I never thought that a pizza could go in a way like this. The cheese are very distinct and each flavoring are really for total umami feeling.

It was indeed a great experience and I definitely want to try the food once again. Ms. Justine Uy, the owner of the place is very generous, she gave as worth P800 of GC. Well, it would have been better if it would be for The 5th Taste but it is still ok. I also manage to have a photo with her and the chef of this wonderful place.

Some suggestions for improvement includes:

Better signage so that it can easily been.

Add more lightning and a cool music which is perfect for the place like Japanese music.

Some Japanese movies on the television or anime would also be cool.

It has a very modern look which looks like another bar I know so I do suggest that it could integrate a modern Japanese touch to it.

So why The 5th Taste?

Well Ms. Justine tells us that it is a very unique taste and yes it is indeed. This is a taste that is introduced by the Japanese, the "umami" taste.

"What exactly is the umami taste? Well, there's no English word that's synonymous with umami, however it's most often described as a "savory" or "meaty" taste.Being able to distinguish the umami taste takes some practice because it's not as obvious as other tastes, such as sweet or bitter". - http://www.msginfo.com/about_taste_umami.asp

Did they pass the umami taste? Well, in my own opinion, I think The 5th Taste's food are indeed umamilicious.